A Fistful of Dollars

release year: 1964
genre: western
viewing setting: home DVD, 10/5/09 and 10/29/06 and 12/31/01

synopsis: A lethal stranger rides into a rough town and plays both of its bosses against the other while making money from both.

impressions: This movie started a subgenre of westerns and definitely has a certain style. There's a lot of music and few complicated words. The characters sweat and bleed. The good guy gets beaten up. Yet, for all this, it's a simple and fun plot and easy to watch. This is actually an adaptation of the samurai movie Yojimbo which had the same plot but with swords, not guns. Anyhow, the way that the protagonist plays the two sides against each other is very entertaining, and he's definitely an anti-hero.

acting: Clint Eastwood practically created a certain type of character here, and it's fun to watch: the mostly-silent and tough gunfighter who takes shit from nobody and never misses with his guns.

final word: Essential western.

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